Keyword Research Mistakes and Errors That You Might Be Doing Right Now | SEO

Keyword research is one of the fundamentals of SEO, as it helps to provide you with a starting point in crafting an effective SEO strategy. Having the right keyword opens up more opportunities for a website when it comes to gaining more traffic and conversions, ensuring that search engines will be able to help users find what they are looking for.

Doing keyword research may look simple at a glance, but there is more to it when it comes to finding the right set of words to help users look for you. Keyword research requires using the right tools and a good amount of research to ensure that you would be providing the right words that would drive traffic and conversions. However, despite all of the best tools and research techniques, there are times that mistakes will be bound to happen, which ends up in unsatisfactory results.

These mistakes can end up with a website that does not gain traffic and keywords that do not rank well in search engines. This is something every SEO professional must avoid, and thankfully, there are many ways to avoid these mistakes. Here are some mistakes that you might be doing right now, along with some helpful solutions.

Aiming for keywords a few people search for

Perhaps the most common keyword research mistake that a lot of newcomers experience, this is one of the main reasons why a lot of websites do not get the traffic that they expect to attain. When thinking of a keyword that allows users to be able to search for your website, it is normal, to begin with, keywords that are either specific or broad to ensure that it would be able to find your website, along with being related to what you offer. However, the downside can be that you picked a keyword too broad that users would have to dig deep or use a more exact term, or having a keyword too specific, that users would least likely use the term when searching for what they need.

Both types of keywords are examples of what users would least likely use to get to where they want, yet this tends to be happening more often than not. To avoid this from happening, it is best to invest and consult with keyword research tools such as Ahrefs, as they would not only provide statistics but also provide the best suggestions as well.

For example, I own an SEO company website. While the keyword “SEO company” has good traffic, users would have to go through pages just to find your website. The best way to help users narrow down their search is by creating a location-specific keyword, which means adding the country or city name next to the keyword. We have experienced much success using this method, as we were able to help various websites attain more local traffic that helps them gain more conversions. Using your tools wisely and effectively is the key to conducting quality keyword research.

Not knowing the difference between singular and plural keywords

Singular and plural keywords will always be separate, and one will not affect the traffic of the other. However, there are still cases where switching to singular or plural will help boost search traffic. This is all down to what service or product that your website offers. If you are selling products, it is best to choose plural keywords, if you are aiming to promote your business or service, then it’s better to pick singular keywords. To give you a visual idea on the difference between singular and plural keywords, here’s some data from Ahrefs:

It is best to consult with keyword research tools, along with testing out the keywords themselves to see which one results in more traffic. While this small detail might seem very simple at a glance, picking the right choice between the two is very impactful and can make or break your traffic.

Not going local

Local SEO has become much bigger, especially in the past few months. This has helped boost the traffic of so many local businesses, which in turn helped users find important places near their area. I’ve personally seen numerous businesses and establishments reaping the benefits, yet I still see businesses that could have thrived more by using local keywords. Local keywords help search engines list you down for area-specific queries. For example, typing “Japanese restaurant” and “Japanese restaurant Manila” provide similar results, but the latter would present you with a more detailed list of restaurants near your area, and you would be guaranteed that the options presented would only be within the area.

Not having an area-specific keyword can be detrimental to your local SEO, as your website would less likely appear in local search results despite being within the area. To ensure that adding an area-specific keyword would be viable for your business, it is best to test it out and see if there are other businesses in the area doing the same.

Key Takeaway

Keywords are a very important element in any SEO strategy and ensuring that you pick the best ones would guarantee a good search ranking and steady traffic. By avoiding these keyword research mistakes, you would ensure that your website’s  SEO would be in the best shape.

If you have questions and inquiries about keyword research and SEO in general, leave a comment below and let’s talk.